666 hammer wrote:But it could be made to work, if allowed. But the government has blamed the EU for not helping. Right or wrong once we leave they won't be able to use that excuse.
I would have thought that supplying steel to build the rail network, ships, tanks, trains would be enough to keep going. Not to mention greener.
The government has always looked at buying cheap now as the best option, regardless of future repercussion. From cheap labour causing skills shortage to job losses and the massive social bill it produces.
The universal tax credit and all the extra costs massive unemployment brings will make the bailout look like peanuts.
Bare in mind these EU elections are said to have cost £100m not to mention the amount Chris grayling has lost.
In the context of UK employment 5,000 jobs is not a big expense, there are about 7m working age people claiming some benefits, another 5,000 has almost zero impact ...
That of course is not the point, but it is the harsh reality.
The fact is first British Steel, then under Tata, and than Greybull Capital simply wasn't competitive. EU rules barred any government subsidy, and without support cheap imports were always going to kill the business. Nothing new there, high cost high wage doing mostly manual work, that can be done at low cost, low wage in far less developed countries ... we've seem what happens time after time ...
but ...
all is not lost, conversely the Brexit screw up could work in a 'recovery' operation. The low pound means whilst a "British Steel" company still couldn't compete with dirt cheap low grade imports, it could compete with high end specialist steel products where expertise and skilled labour is required and which can't be produced at rock bottom prices in third world countries.
post Brexit you just might see a "British Steel" reborn, sure it will take government subsidies to get it going and once out of the EU straight-jacket these subsidies can be applied
Who knew a parliamentary screw up might actually end up saving 5,000 jobs ... it's a very long-shot but miracles never cease